


Apathetic

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Crying, Exhaustion, F/F, Friendship, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Volume 8 (RWBY), Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Someone get these kids a therapist, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Team as Family, team rwby stages an intervention, the apathy as a metaphor for depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29575134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Resisting the pull of the Apathy is difficult enough when you're at your best. And Ruby isn't at her best right now.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 3
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My friend was watching volume 6 for the first time today, and we were talking about how creepy the Apathy were, which gave me the idea to write something with them. This is set vaguely post-volume 8, with spoilers up to episode 8 of volume 8. Enjoy!

When she and her team are asked to clear out a nest of Apathy, Ruby readily agrees to go on the mission. Reading over the details of the briefing, the job doesn't seem too complicated. In the aftermath of Salem's attack on Atlas, many groups of Grimm that had previously been lying dormant had been disturbed by the fighting. And of course, those Grimm need to be killed before its safe for civilians can move back into the area.

She's not too worried when she explains the plan to the rest of her team. Sure, the Apathy are a very dangerous type of Grimm, and Ruby's not the type to underestimate her opponents, but she's pretty confident that they're more than capable of handling it. After all, this time around they haven't just had some earth-shattering news dropped on them, making them vulnerable to the Apathy's influence. They're in a much better position to handle things this time around.

Sure, things haven't gone perfectly since team RWBY reunited, but it's nothing too troubling, just the occasional bickering or miscommunication between the girls. And it's not unexpected. They've all grown and changed in their own ways, and they need time to adjust to that. It was the same way when they reunited at Haven, and they got through that together without too much turmoil.

And if Ruby herself is still exhausted and drained and trying to get back on her feet after everything that's happened, it's no big deal. She's a huntress after all, and a licensed one at that. She trained for this job to protect people, and that's what she's going to do. There's no time to sit around and mope and try to process everything, no. It's always better to keep moving, smile through the pain, fake it until you make it. It's what she's always done.

She's faced down the Apathy before, and she'll do it again.

The mission starts off simply enough, even if Ruby didn't sleep very well the night before. Every time she closes her eyes she sees the man crumbling to dust inside the body of the Hound, or Nora collapsing after overloading her semblance, or Penny, eyes glowing red and leaking green fluid like blood, unable to control her movements as she tries to attack them, but it's fine. Eventually she'll get used to seeing those dreams and become numb to the fear, just like with all her other nightmares.

The fault in the ground where the Apathy have made their den opens into a wide cave, so, after a moment of straining to catch a glimpse of the creatures inside and failing to see anything, they decide to split up, falling back into their old partnerships. Ruby and Weiss take one side, while Blake and Yang take the other. They'll scout the area and meet back up here in fifteen minutes to come up with a plan of attack.

Should be simple enough, right?

It starts off easily enough, but as she follows behind Weiss, Ruby finds it becoming harder and harder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. She's so tired . . . Shaking her head, she does her best to brush off the exhaustion clinging to her like cobwebs and hurries forward, trying to match her pace with Weiss' brisk walk. For her part, Weiss doesn't seem to notice Ruby's struggles, gaze fixed firmly ahead as she keeps an eye out for their target.

But despite her best efforts, Ruby quickly finds herself falling behind again. The ground beneath seems to resist her efforts to keep pushing forwards, sticking to her feet like thick mud or quicksand. The darkness surrounding them is so thick that it seems to dull the lights from their scrolls, forcing them to squint to make out their surroundings. And once again, the exhaustion is coming over her in waves.

They've been so busy lately, and she hasn't been sleeping well, and it feels like she can never catch a break, or even find a moment to catch her breath. She's tired, so tired, so much so that it seems to weigh her limbs down like lead. And yes, Ruby knows that this is the life she signed up for, but sometimes she still has her doubts. They barely managed to escape Salem's clutches this last time, and it won't be long before they have to leave for Vacuo and face her once again.

Sometimes, Ruby wonders if she's doing more harm than good. Sure, everyone looks to her as the leader, but maybe that's a mistake. Lately, she just seems to be leading everyone into disaster after disaster, instead of pushing forwards towards a clear goal. Her plans seem to end up causing them to narrowly escape with their lives instead of accomplishing anything useful. And Yang had said it herself, that Ruby's leadership, hadn't been working out very well for them lately. Her sister usually wouldn't say stuff like that unless she meant it, no matter how stressed she felt.

Gradually, Ruby's footsteps slow to a shuffle, until the heaviness pulling at her entire body becomes too much to resist and she falls to her knees on the floor of the cave. The floor is gritty and rough and freezing and small rocks dig painfully into her legs, but she hardly notices. She's so cold already that the temperature of the ground hardly registers.

Despite the uneven texture, the floor of the cave suddenly feels as welcome as a soft, warm, bed, and Ruby curls up on her side, the heavy weight of exhaustion dragging her eyelids shut. Moving forwards seems so pointless. Why not just lie here and let all her troubles float away? It'd be less painful.

She doesn't even have enough energy to scream when she sees the eyes glinting out of the carefully hidden crack in the wall, just closes her eyes and lets herself drift.

Weiss is ashamed of how long it takes her to realize that Ruby is no longer behind her. Sure, the oppressive darkness means that it's difficult to see anything, even the unmistakable crimson of Ruby's cloak, and the sounds around them seem oddly muffled, but she could have been keeping better tabs on her partner. She whirls around, using the light from her scroll to carefully examine her surroundings, before beginning to slowly retrace her steps, keeping an eye out for Ruby.

Ordinarily, Weiss would credit her keen observational skills for her success, but the truth is, she finds Ruby by nearly tripping over her partner's prone body. After righting herself, she crouches down next to the younger girl, feeling for her wrist and checking for a pulse. She's deathly still and her skin is cold to the touch, but her pulse is steady, and Weiss can see her chest rise and fall with each breath.

"Ruby! Hey, wake up!" she calls repeatedly, trying to rouse her partner. After calling her name in increasingly frantic tones and tapping her face to try to wake her up, all to no avail, it's time to think of a backup plan. She shifts her weight from foot to foot uneasily. She's not sure if she can carry Ruby out of here. Their leader might be younger than her, but Ruby is taller than Weiss, and she knows that Ruby is packing a decent amount of muscle. But she can't very well leave her here with Grimm lurking nearby, and she doesn't like her odds trying to fight them off by herself—

She barely represses a scream when she happens to glance up and spot the hungry eyes watching her from a small crack in the wall. Without a second thought, she hauls Ruby to her feet and drags her with her as she sprints towards the entrance of the cave. Behind her, she hears the clatter of rocks and horrible moaning as the Apathy slowly push their way out to follow her.

Either it's a freak adrenaline thing, or Ruby is much lighter than Weiss had expected, because she doesn't find herself struggling to carry her partner as she runs through the darkness. Has Ruby lost weight recently? Come to think of it, Ruby hasn't seemed too enthusiastic at mealtimes lately—but enough about that for now. She has Grimm to outrun, and a partner to get to safety.

Weiss is in such a hurry that she nearly slams into Blake and Weiss when she reaches them, narrowly skidding to a halt in front of them to avert a collision.

"What happened?" Blake asks, shooting Weiss a worried look.

"Found them," she pants in response.

"Wait, what happened to Ruby?" Yang demands upon spotting her sister draped limply over Weiss' shoulder.

"I don't know," Weiss admits, finally able to breathe normally again. "I lost track of her for a second, and then when I found her again, she'd collapsed. And then I saw them peeking out of the wall and figured I should find you guys," she explains in a rush.

"We need to get her out of here." The blonde frowns, easing Ruby out of Weiss' arms and arranging her so that her arms are looped around her Yang's neck, legs dangling by her sides. "Geez, sis, have you been eating at all recently?" she mutters under her breath, confirming Weiss' own worry. "I don't know what's wrong with her, but—"

She's interrupted by a loud roaring. The Apathy have found them. All three of them feel the pull from the creatures, the urge to fall under the spell of doing nothing, but they resist it. They have to get Ruby out of here.

"They're getting close," Blake mutters. "What should we do?"

Weiss tilts her head for a moment, thinking. "Blake, can you summon a couple of fire clones?"

"Of course," Blake replies immediately. "But what are you planning to do?"

"You'll see," Weiss assures her. "Yang, go ahead and get Ruby out of here. We're about to heat things up in here."

They exit with a bang—literally. Weiss uses a fire glyph to ignite Blake's clones, leaving the Grimm pursuing them a pile of quickly crumbling ash.

Ruby doesn't wake up on the trip back, but she does stir from time to time, muttering under her breath. "I'm so tired and cold, just leave me alone," she mumbles to herself. Yang wraps her cloak more tightly around her. "I don't want to do this anymore, please. I keep failing you and it hurts."

The other members of team RWBY exchange worried looks. "I think there are some things that we need to—discuss with Ruby," Weiss says quietly. Blake and Yang nod in agreement.

When Ruby wakes up, she's still cold and tired, but much less than before, and she's laying in a comfortable bed instead of on the hard floor of a cave. Slowly, she forces her heavy eyelids to open until her gaze meets the faces of her three very worried teammates.

They stare at each other in silence for a moment. Finally, Yang speaks up. "I think we need to have a talk, sis."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY stages an intervention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't originally planning to write a second part of this fic, but several people asked for it so here you go.

"I think we need to have a talk, sis."

Despite still feeling groggy with exhaustion, Ruby's blood still runs cold at her sister's words. Yang is upset with her, they all are, but why? What happened—oh. The sudden realization hits her like a slap to the face.

The mission they were on. They were supposed to be taking care of the Apathy so that the people of Atlas could return to their homes—but Ruby had screwed up. She'd given into the Grimm's influence and allowed herself to become a liability. She'd let her team down.

She'd let everyone down.

Ruby swallows hard against the sudden lump in her throat. "Look, guys, I'm really sorry," she says, cheeks flushing with shame. She's supposed to be stronger than this, better than this. "I know that you have every reason to be mad at me and—"

"Ruby, what?" Blake interrupts her. If Ruby didn't know better, she'd say that Blake looks startled and concerned rather than angry. But that can't be right.

"I know that I screwed up the mission," she says quietly, staring down at her lap so she won't have to see the disappointment in her teammates' faces, even if she deserves it. "I shouldn't have let the Apathy get to me. I should have fought harder. We can head back there and finish them off right away. I promise I won't mess up this time—"

"Ruby," Weiss cuts her off. She glances up, but she can't quite read her partner's expression. "We finished the mission. The Apathy are gone. So, you don't have to worry about that."

It still doesn't make up for her letting them down so drastically, but Ruby allows herself to feel a tiny glimmer of relief. "That's good," she says, sighing quietly. "Still, I'm sorry letting you all down like that. I'm supposed to be the leader and instead I just made everything harder for you—"

"Ruby, none of us care about that." This time, it's Yang who interrupts her. She sounds frustrated, and Ruby braces herself for her sister's temper. "The mission is over. Forget about it for now. We're more worried about you."

"Wh—what?" Whatever Ruby was expecting Yang to say, it wasn't that.

"You said some—concerning things while you were under the Apathy's influence," Weiss says quietly, her face creased with a worried frown.

Ruby bites her lip. She can guess at what she said while she was out, and she doesn't like where this is going. "Look guys, don't worry about it. We've all said stuff that we didn't mean while they were around. It's nothing." She shoots her friends a reassuring smile. That should be enough to put them at ease.

Apparently not. "Ruby, you can't keep just brushing this stuff off." Weiss' frown deepens.

"Ruby, we're really worried about you," Blake says quietly.

"We know it's not just the Apathy bothering you, Ruby." Yang doesn't break eye contact with her. "We've all noticed the difference lately. You barely sleep, you don't eat—heck, Weiss can carry you without a struggle. That's not normal. We've all been worried about you. I just wish we'd said something sooner."

"We could have helped you before it got this bad, Ruby." Weiss' eyes are pleading.

"We're your team," Blake says anxiously. "You know that you can tell us anything, right? We want to be there for you, Ruby."

Her eyes are stinging furiously, and she blinks rapidly in an attempt to keep from crying. She was expecting them to be angry with her, for harsh words to be exchanged, to be yelled at. This—she doesn't know how to deal with this. "I'm really tired, guys," she insists, closing her eyes and turning away. "Can't we talk about this later?"

Or never, maybe? Never would be preferable.

With her eyes shut, she can't see the other three exchange glances. "Nope," Weiss says finally, popping the 'p' the way Ruby had taught her.

Ruby blinks in surprise. "Nope?"

"Look, Ruby," Blake sighs. "If we let you off the hook now, you'll just keep avoiding it forever. And clearly, ignoring it isn't working out very well for you. So just talk to us."

Her lap is suddenly very interesting. Ruby stares down at the blanket covering her legs, refusing to meet her teammates' eyes. She sighs heavily. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about we start with what you were saying after the Apathy got to you?" Weiss chimes in. "About how you keep failing us and you don't want to do this anymore?"

"Or how you thought we'd be more concerned about failing the mission when you were in trouble?" Ruby hasn't seen Yang this worried since—well, since Salem managed to get in her head while they were in Ironwood's office. "Please don't tell me that you thought we'd care more about killing Grimm than you, Ruby."

"I—" Ruby doesn't know what to say.

"You know that you're not just our leader, right, Ruby?" Blake says, looking at her expectantly.

"You're our friend, Ruby," Weiss says earnestly.

"So, please, sis." Yang takes Ruby's hands in her own and squeezes them gently. "Tell us what's bothering you. Let us help you for once."

"I—" Ruby pauses to clear her throat. "It's kind of hard to talk about."

"We understand," Blake assures her. She shoots Ruby an encouraging smile. "Things have been difficult lately. But you can rely on us. We're stronger together."

"I know that you try to handle everything by yourself, since you're our leader, and you've been doing a good job on dealing with everything and supporting us, but it goes both ways. Remember, we're here for you too."

Ruby can't quite believe what she's hearing. "But Yang, how can you say that? You said it yourself, my leadership hasn't been working too great for everyone lately. All I've been doing is leading is into disaster."

"Ruby—" Yang looks like she's been slapped across the face. "I didn't—look, I was tired and frustrated. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I'm sorry."

"But—" Ruby still feels confused. "But you've never said anything like that before. Even when you were mad at me or didn't like my plan, you supported me anyway. Plus, you were right," she says, lowering her voice until she's practically whispering.

"What?" Yang exclaims. "Ruby, no I wasn't. I was being a jerk, and I'm sorry. I know things have been tough lately, but that's not your fault. You're doing the best you can."

"But I'm not!" Ruby shouts, surprising even herself. There are tears pricking at her eyes again, and this time they won't go away. "If I really was doing my best, then Nora wouldn't have gotten hurt, or Penny, and Pyrrha would still be alive!"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang are all startled by her outburst. Ruby almost never talks about Pyrrha's death.

Blake is the first to recover. "Ruby, you can't prevent every bad thing from happening. You're just one person."

"None of those things were your fault," Weiss says gently. "Nora and Penny and—" she hesitates for a second. "Pyrrha all made their own choices. You tried your best to help them. That's all anyone can ask of you."

"It's like what you said when we first met." Blake smiles gently at her. "Bad things happen, but we're here to try to make things better. And you try harder than anyone else I've ever known."

"So, please, sis, stop running yourself into the ground."

"Let us be here for you like you always are for us," Weiss urges her.

"We are a team, after all," Blake reminds her.

And Ruby doesn't really have any counterargument for that. "Okay guys, I'll try my best."

She squeaks in surprise when Yang pulls her in for one of her infamous bear hugs. "That's the spirit, sis!"

Weiss and Blake quickly join in on the impromptu group hug. "We love you so much, Ruby," Blake murmurs.

"Don't ever forget that," Weiss says.

Ruby shuts her eyes and lets out a watery chuckle. "What would I do without you guys?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.


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